In Which I Decide … To Return to My Work
Tomorrow, Tuesday 8 March, it will be two weeks since the February 22 earthquake wreaked such havoc on Christchurch. And there’s still a truckload to be done, both in the city and right here on the home acre. Yesterday, after spending most of the day working through lists (believe me, these are endless—as fast as you cross one task off, another 10 spring up in its place, not unlike the heads of Hydra) and also packing away books and ornaments (so that I could consequently store away large, likely-to-fall-over items of furniture, ie shelving units) I was exhausted. Ex-haus-ted, dear readers.
Part of that exhaustion, I suspect, was emotional: I felt like a refugee in my own home. It also underlined what I have known in my head from the 22nd—that this really isn’t going to be over for a long time. But I also thought: I still have a manuscript to edit and two more books to write. That’s my job and despite all this other stuff that’s crying out to be done, I need to get back to it. Life amongst the ruins perhaps, but we all need to carry on.
I’ll undoubtedly still spend a great deal of time with my arm up to my shoulder in water, clearing silt from stormwater traps, plus scraping the last layers of liquefaction sludge off hard surfaces, as well as chasing EQC and insurance companies, builders and drainlayers (me and the rest of the city.) I’ll definitely keep bringing you reports from the ‘burbs for a while yet, too. But I want to start moving on—and actively returning to work, which in my case is writing, seems like the best place to start.
So that’s what I’m doing today. I’m sitting down at my desk, in amongst all those boxes of packed away stuff, and I’m working on the ms for The Gathering of the Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two.
How about you? What are you doing, where you are?
I really feel for you Helen. And applaude the determination to return to work. I’m hoping, for your sake, that it provides some kind of catharsis.
Is there anything you guys need we could send down from Wellington?
Aimee–thank you for the offer of help, but at the moment we’re actually ok, with workarounds in place for the day to day and most outlets having “the basics” well in hand now. (Impressive, huh?) I think it’s just a matter of getting on with things as much as possible—that journey of a thousand miles that begins with a single step. In that sense, I’m not sure it’s about carthasis, but more about taking that first step and then the next one after that, just doing whatever needs to be done next and not trying to get through the whole list in a single day.:)
yeah get into your work – that’s the only thing that lasts
And important to be doing something—better still if it’s something that matters, and I hope my writing does.
It takes fortitude to keep going. But I do hope once you have started you manage to lose yourself in your writing at least just a little bit.
Fortitude—what an apt word! Thank you for putting that out there, Alicia.:)
I’m very glad to hear this. I’ve been hoping and praying for the day you’d be free enough of the sludge and grind to get back to your muse… 🙂
I’m accompanying you in the edits phase, for another three or four days. Thereafter… plunging into short story mode. I’m looking forward to it.
It can be nice to have a change sometimes—and short stories are a very different writing mode to the novel.
Good on you. I just started writing again today too. It feels very good!
I am still torn to be honest, between knowing I need to get back to it and seeing how much there is still to be done, everywhere I look around me.
Thinking of you, dear Helen – can only imagine how exhausting this has been for you.
May your work be balm.
Thank you, Claire. Even if it feels like hard work, it will still make a very welcome change from shovelling sludge. [Grins.]